The Taoiseach and British Prime Minister will hold a crisis meeting in London later today to map a way through the political crisis amid fears that the peace process is at the point of collapse.
Mr Ahern will travel to Downing Street tonight to discuss with Mr Tony Blair how to continue operating the Belfast Agreement after the expected suspension of the Northern Ireland Executive, Assembly and other institutions.
The Government is expected to seek a joint British-Irish push for further progress on policing, paramilitary disarmament and a parallel reduction in the security presence in the North before the next Assembly election.
The aim of this would be to show that despite the effective collapse of the power-sharing institutions, the Belfast Agreement is continuing to operate despite the efforts of unionist rejectionists.
Officials from both governments spent much of yesterday in discussion with the main pro-agreement parties to see what political developments could take place without the institutions.
The Taoiseach is expected to discuss the situation with the Sinn Féin leader, Mr Gerry Adams, this week - possibly tomorrow - and with the North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, on Friday.
Last night, Mr Trimble gave the Prime Minister a seven-day deadline to propose Sinn Féin's expulsion from the Executive or face an Ulster Unionist withdrawal.
While London welcomed the breathing space, some Whitehall sources accepted that its only likely effect would be to force the British government to suspend the Executive and other institutions set up by the Belfast Agreement either side of the weekend.
However, Downing Street insisted that Mr Blair was not yet "resigned" to suspension.
Downing Street is unlikely to make decisions before tomorrow's meeting between Mr Blair and Mr Adams.
There was some speculation in Government circles last night that Dublin and London could begin work on another "sequencing" deal that would see moves on police reform and demilitarisation in parallel with a further IRA move to build confidence that it will never go back to violence.
However, one senior source said the prospects of such a deal were poor due to the recent lack of trust between both sides.